Experimental validation of dust impact on-grid connected PV system performance in Palestine: A case study, Nablus.

No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021
Authors
Hatem Haj Muhammad
Faris Kawa’
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Energy is considered a primary factor in production and a significant factor in economic development. Restricted fossil capital and environment challenges have emphasized the need for new alternative solutions for the supply of electricity using renewable energy. Among the possible techniques of solar energy generation, the photovoltaic system may make a major contribution to the creation of a more sustainable energy system. The production of the photovoltaic panel is highly dependent on the amount of irradiance that enters the solar cells. However, dust is among the location dependent environmental variables that can reduce the performance of a PV panel by reducing the incoming solar radiation causing an increase in temperature. So, cleaning the PV module at the right time will ensure less energy loss and improves the economical part. Palestine suffers from a lack of natural resources, mineral wealth and conventional energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, also from high costs that equals to the most expensive countries in the world. In addition, The Israeli authorities control the quantities and price of the fuel when it is permitted to enter and when it is forbidden. The main objective of this project is to compare the effect of dust on the PV’s efficiency when cleaned on different time spans in different locations in Palestine. (ex. Cleaned weekly, monthly, 2 months). This study covered two different locations, Nablus and Tulkarem in outdoor exposure between January and May of 2021. The effect of the location on the performance of the PV analyzed and the optimal cleaning schedule estimated on each of the locations chosen. Cleaning methods introduced to avoid the accumulation of dust on the solar panel’s surface and the main factors that affect the output of the PV modules have been summarized. The used cleaning methods was water-based and manual cleaning methods based in this project. Finally, all PV panels used for the project will have similar characteristics and performances. Based on a timetabling cleaning process, the study has found that the worst scenario happened when the PV panels were left uncleaned for two months. The power reduction reached 5.44% with an average of 3.64% for the whole period of the study.
Description
Keywords
Citation